Security News Update for September 20, 2024
Tennessee School District Sends $3 Mil to “Money Mules” – Mules May Wind Up With Felony Convictions
Hopefully the US Attorney is a nice person and realizes that these people were just pawns in the game. $3 million later, they caught the ringleader, who also was a pawn – for his supposed fiancé – whom he had only met in person a couple of times (really?) and who had to travel overseas to take care of her father’s estate (or escape jurisdiction). If all of this smells like week old fish stored without refrigeration then you are smarter than the players here because none of them tried to hide what they were doing. Still, even if they do no jail time, they could all be convicted felons. Details at The Record
Be Glad You Are Not London Transit – In Person Password Reset for 30,000
Transport for London (TfL) is requiring all staff to make an appointment, show up in person and get a new password. They will be prioritizing who gets to obtain access first. I wonder if they are paying people while they can’t work. It looks like they are doing the resets 24/7 so you might get an appointment at 3 AM. While this is a pain in the rear, it is also much more secure when you don’t have a channel that you know is safe to communicate over. Credit: Bleeping Computer
Two Months Before the Election Trump Announces Crypto Venture
No particular surprise but the venture is minus details other than 20 percent of the tokens will be allocated to the founders (AKA the Trumps and friends), 63 percent will be sold publicly. Only accredited investors will be allowed to buy the tokens. Those are people rich enough (a) to know better and (b) whom no one will lose any sleep over if they lose all of their investment. The Trumps won’t own or operate the platform but they will get paid anyway. Also they did not explain the “rug pull” (pump and dump scheme) from the last Trump-aligned crypto scam, the $DJT token that Barron Trump, at least, was involved with. Credit: Cybernews
Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark to Donate $100 Mil to Strengthen US Cybersecurity
The Craigslist founder said that half will go to protecting power grids and other infrastructure from foreign government attacks, the other half will go to educating people about cyber hygiene. He has pledged over $400 million since 2015 and plans to give away his entire fortune in his lifetime. Credit: Tech Crunch
YouTube Removes TenetMedia as Russian Disinformation Channel
Google has shut down several YouTube channels belonging to a company the Justice Department linked this week to a Russian disinformation campaign. On Wednesday, the Justice Department took down 32 websites used for a Russian influence operation and charged two Russian nationals working for the outlet RT for their role in paying U.S.-based media influencers to spread propaganda that furthered the Kremlin’s geopolitical goals. This is only a drop in the bucket, but possibly a good start. Credit: The Record
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